Fokker Dr.I by popeye the sailor - FINISHED - Revell - 1:28 scale - PLASTIC

[popeye the sailor]

they all had their issues.......the biggest thing about the Fokker D VII,  was that it was introduced too late.  had it been tested before the F 1/Dr 1,  I think the D VII  would have been the go to aircraft.......along with the Albatross and the Halberstadt.    more on the sage of the Dr 1 later.......the sad part is coming up     for how good the 'jet' was.....the ME 262 was rather 'plain jane' compared to the jets we have today.  I started to do the cable levers........I painted them 'steel' and had to wait for them to totally dry,  being a metallic color.  more on this project soon  

[Egilman]

Coming along very nicely Dennis.... Was it issued too late? good question....

They had them both, and the decided lean in air to air tactics was the dogfight, where maneuverability was king... The DR.1 had that in spades, the only allied plane that came close was the Sopwith Tripe I believe... what broke the superiority of the DR.I in the air was the adoption of Boom and Zoom tactics using the latest editions of the Spad and several other high altitude designs... The DR.I was much less effective in that type of fight. The D VII was a boom and zoom aircraft from it's inception. But with a better designed high lift wing, longer fuselage and larger control surfaces and a much stronger airframe than had ever been put into an aircraft before......  It was able to hang with the dogfighters cause of it's strength, boom and zoom from higher altitudes cause of it's higher lift wing and dive faster as a result also...

 

It took the change in air to air tactics over the western front to get it accepted by the pilots as the better aircraft..... And as far as being better? the "fokker scourge" was a result of exclusively issuing D VII's as replacements when all the other aircraft were being lost to the Spads & SE5A's.... the D VII turned the tide in the airwar to the Germans favor and the Allies didn't have an answer.....

 

Many allied squadrons were issued orders to not engage a flight of D VII's when encountered especially when they were above you and experienced aviators were teaching the preserve yourself for another day tactics (escape and evade) to the young pilots when encountering a D VII in the air without an altitude advantage... 

 

Hence the 1918 "Fokker Scourge" and why it was the only aircraft demanded to be turned over to the allies and the specific prohibition on building more of them after the treaty......

 

In the last two months of the war the French were developing fighter sweep tactics for the Spad squadrons to defeat the "Fokker Scourge", results were mixed, the British were beginning to adopt similar tactics, but the war ended before those tactics could be fully developed.....

 

One thing is for sure, the D VII took dogfighting out of the realm of superior tactical solution in air to air warfare as a doctrine and reduced it to ACM, (air combat maneuvering) simply a defensive skill that a pilot needed to survive..... 

 

Air combat became a battle of position and weapons.....

 

It changed the tactics of Air to Air Warfare forever....

[Canute]

Nice analysis, EG. ACM and ACT (air combat tactics)needed to develop, but WW I wasn't the time. The basics that were taught in the 50s still apply. We just have much better weapons to conduct the engagements with, meaning the air-frames and weapons.

[Egilman]

2 hours ago, Canute said:

Nice analysis, EG. ACM and ACT (air combat tactics)needed to develop, but WW I wasn't the time. The basics that were taught in the 50s still apply. We just have much better weapons to conduct the engagements with, meaning the air-frames and weapons.

As the summer of 1918 began, air tactics started to evolve, due to the increasing capabilities of the aircraft involved...  It was time for this to happen given the pace of technology the same as Patton applying Cavalry tactics to the tank corps.... Warfare was beginning to modernize quickly....  It's just as well that the Germans surrendered cause there is no way of knowing what it would have evolved into. a 20 year pause and we had a good example of what it evolved into during the battle of France.... 

 

And another note: warfare at the end of WWII did not resemble warfare at the start either. Nothing develops faster than the techniques and technology of warfare during periods of war.....

For example, at the start of WWII Radar was nothing more that a big jagged blip on a single small screen, basically showing you that something was there. By the end they were bombing from aircraft using downlooking radar profiling the target, and had radar guided antiaircraft guns that could pick out individual aircraft.... Artillery was still manual calculations and line of sight at the start, by the end they had computer programmed ballistic charts, Time on Target and radar controlled guns.... At the start you fired a torpedo and hoped that it functioned correctly, at the end they had sonar homing torpedoes...

 

Warfare/killing is the fastest driver of tech mankind ever conceived of....

[Canute]

All too true, EG. It is a big driver. 

 

US torpedoes were a joke at the start of the war. A dice roll for one actually working. 

 

[popeye the sailor]

considering that this was before radar,  it was all dead reckoning      not sure if you understood what I meant EG........the D VII and the F 1  {actually the V 4} were tested around the same time period.  both were rejected by Richthofen due to bad handling.  the V 4 mods weren't very extensive,  and was first to be retested as the V 5,  later to be designated the F 1.........the D VII had more modifications to be done on it,  which held it retest off till later.   Richthofen was pleased with the F 1,  and recommended the order for the first 20 planes.   I was gonna hold off on the sad part till later.........a short time after the jastas were supplied with the Dr 1's,  they began to experience problems with the top wing coming off.  Richthofen's brother Lothar,  was injured when his top wing came off.......I believe he actually landed the plane too!  they inspected the other planes and found that the connection joints were rotted and coming apart.......that halted flying them until the repairs could be made.  I don't have my notes with me,  so I'll have more on this later..........it explains why only 320 of them were produced.   the D VII took over after that.   these plane were the result of the Sopwith Triplane.....I mentioned that at the beginning of the log  

 

I did get more done on Ltn. Jacob's plane.   the cable control levers had more than enough time to dry.   I'd have more on Ltn. Kempf's plane,  but I had painted the cables with metallic paint,  and it flaked off on the fuselage and wings and it stuck to 'em........having to clean up the mess.  anyway........I used thread with this one,  so I didn't have that problem.   I did buy a thin cable -like wire from Michael's,  but the darn stuff wouldn't behave and I didn't use it.   it might work better on ship models........we'll have to see.

 

what??????   oh darn.........time for sack time  ....gotta work tomorrow.   well......here's one picture of the upper wing.......I rigged one of the cables     show ya the rest tomorrow!  ...might even have something extra for yas!  

 

 

 

[Egilman]

14 hours ago, popeye the sailor said:

not sure if you understood what I meant EG........the D VII and the F 1  {actually the V 4} were tested around the same time period.  both were rejected by Richthofen due to bad handling.  the V 4 mods weren't very extensive,  and was first to be retested as the V 5,  later to be designated the F 1.........the D VII had more modifications to be done on it,  which held it retest off till later.   Richthofen was pleased with the F 1,  and recommended the order for the first 20 planes.   I was gonna hold off on the sad part till later.........a short time after the jastas were supplied with the Dr 1's,  they began to experience problems with the top wing coming off.  Richthofen's brother Lothar,  was injured when his top wing came off.......I believe he actually landed the plane too!  they inspected the other planes and found that the connection joints were rotted and coming apart.......that halted flying them until the repairs could be made.  I don't have my notes with me,  so I'll have more on this later

Yeah I understood and yeah a big part of why the Dr 1 was finished first was Richtofen.... I've always wondered what he would have thought about the D VII if he had lived to fly a production machine... If he had been flying one, I believe he would lived through the war.... I need to brush up on Bloody Red Baron, it's been a long time since I've read on it... (Gotta find out what Snoopy is doing also)....

 

Anyway nice work.... I"m a sucker for a nice Dr 1...... And this is a superbe one...

[popeye the sailor]

I would have gone to work today,  but my foot was bothering me,  so I took the day off.  I'm set up to have the procedure done on Sept 8th,  so there's light at the end of the tunnel     here's what I've done so far.........it's a huge jump  

 

not too many Dr 1's were left by the war's end.   they likely had parts to keep them flying,  but I think they gave up on them,  having other planes to utilize.   signing the armistice agreement at the end of the war,  the only planes mentioned were the Fokker D VII's.  they were to be handed over to the allies.  Anthony Fokker move his entire operation to the Netherlands,  to escape paying the back taxes he owed.  he didn't leave empty handed though...along with the factory,  he took a number of plane with him as well.

 

with the control levers in place on the top wing,  the other cables were connected as well.

 

after the touch ups were done,  the wing was added to the model.   it was set up with tape to hold the wing in place so it could have time to dry and set aside.   later,  the cabane struts were added.........I didn't take any photos.   I didn't get too far before I realized it  

 

 

 

 

 

the prop was given the final bit of detail paint

 

as mentioned earlier.......I wasn't too keen on how the control cables were connected to the top wing,  but it works.   upside down,  the cables were rigged through the holes and cemented.

 

 

the prop was added after the cables were trimmed.  the prop does rotate along with the engine

 

 

 

 

the control levers were added to the elevators.......these were later rigged and touched up.

 

 

 

the last to be added to the plane,  is the rudder...........I still need to paint it. 

 

 

[Egilman]

Excellent work my friend.... I've always considered that the DR 1 was the prettiest aircraft of WWI.... (and there were a lot of pretty ones) A fighter pilots fighter plane......

 

Although an excellent airplane, the D VII  was a crate in the looks department... Just my personal opinion you know.... {chuckle}

[Old Collingwood]

Really nice work Denis - those wires  look so realistic.

 

OC.

[popeye the sailor]

thanks EG    some believe that the Baron wasn't fully recovered from his last injury...........I think he got a shoulder wound.  the D VII  had it's fuselage lengthened by one bay {probably equates to a couple feet} trim on the wings,  and added surface to the stabilizer {they gave it a triangular look}.  yep........it's too bad Richthofen didn't get to retest the D VII.........he might have changed his mind   

 

keen to note that there were problems with the D VII.  the ammo boxes were nestled within the front of the fuselage.........there were times that the intense heat would cause the shells to go off prematurely.  to stop this from happening,  cooling vents were fashioned into the sides of the fuselage.  others were plagued with poor workmanship.   a useful feature other than it's good maneuverability,  was the that it could 'stand' on it's prop,  so the pilot could hone in on his pyey and spray it with a concentrated barrage of bullets

[popeye the sailor]

thanks OC......and thanks again EG     really glad I chose to go with this subject..........I had the decals.   I kinda wish I could get another one.........I'd try and go the other way and make the ailerons look the way they should.......single rib curvature.

[popeye the sailor]

since I stayed home today,  I finished painting Ltn. Jacobs  

 

[Old Collingwood]

You should drop some shading over his eyes / edges of his nose / over - around his mouth, then use a fine brush a we bit lighter to pick out his cheeks.

Sorry  figures are going to my head.

 

OC.

[popeye the sailor]

should I use a brown?.........how dark?

[Old Collingwood]

4 minutes ago, popeye the sailor said:

should I use a brown?.........how dark?

I use a citadel  one its dark earth brown,  as long as what you use  free flows  and you can use a fine brush  - not going too heavy, I find a little goes a long way,   I am still a novice at it  and leaning as I go  along.

 

OC.

[popeye the sailor]

I was thinking of dry brushing.  I have a life color kit that pertains to flesh color,  but they are acrylics,  and I only use enamels.  I do have colors to match.......  I gotta bone up on this.......never really done it to a great degree.  I got these folks to do once I get into the stagecoach project......

 

 

I still have the two 'mime' guys to finish too.

 

 

they're not done yet     gonna browse youtube for tutorials

[Old Collingwood]

Same route as I took  to learn from guys  with loads of experience  and 20/20 vision,    some amazing work can be done.

 

OC.

[Egilman]

1 hour ago, popeye the sailor said:

gonna browse youtube for tutorials

 

1 hour ago, Old Collingwood said:

Same route as I took  to learn from guys  with loads of experience  and 20/20 vision,

You mean they actually have step by step videos on how to do that?????     I'll have to check that out myself....

[Old Collingwood]

Just now, Egilman said:

 

You mean they actually have step by step videos on how to do that?????     I'll have to check that out myself....

Certainly do bro,   some amazing stuff  from some really talented people.

 

OC.

[Old Collingwood]

Like this one, its for my range of figures  but it gives an idea.

 

OC.

 

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Painting+28mm+Napoleonic+Figures&&view=detail&mid=48DA1A215C5FD5FE321848DA1A215C5FD5FE3218&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3DPainting%2028mm%20Napoleonic%20Figures%26qs%3Dn%26form%3DQBVR%26sp%3D-1%26pq%3Dpainting%2028mm%20napoleonic%20figures%26sc%3D2-32%26sk%3D%26cvid%3D70F43BD4500D44B196E3C69C5FB71DB2

[mtaylor]

9 hours ago, Egilman said:

Yeah I understood and yeah a big part of why the Dr 1 was finished first was Richtofen.... I've always wondered what he would have thought about the D VII if he had lived to fly a production machine... If he had been flying one, I believe he would lived through the war.... I need to brush up on Bloody Red Baron, it's been a long time since I've read on it... (Gotta find out what Snoopy is doing also)....

 

Anyway nice work.... I"m a sucker for a nice Dr 1...... And this is a superbe one...

I'm not sure he would have, Egilman.  He was pretty burned out mentally and physically and ill a lot towards the end.  Some said his reflexes were off also.

[Egilman]

6 hours ago, popeye the sailor said:

some believe that the Baron wasn't fully recovered from his last injury...........I think he got a shoulder wound.

It was an impacted head wound with splinters. They believe that the leather helmet he wore slowed down the bullet sufficiently to only break his skull and not kill him... He recovered sufficiently to land the plane in friendly territory.... He was flying his Albatros D.V at the time and it wasn't painted red either....  It was shortly afterwards that he started on the red kick initially partially painting his plane eventually completely painting it red...

 

His list of aircraft that he won each and every victory is documented but I don't believe there are images of each one.... There is a shot of his Albatros he was shot down in taken right after he landed it and it is clearly not red.....

 

He had a 20 day recovery from two different surgeries to repair his wounds and started flying again.... He flew august into Sept. 1917 (getting 4 kills, 2 in his Albatross D.V and 2 in the brand new Fokker F.I ) when he was ordered to take convalescent leave which he did for another three weeks... No, he wasn't the same afterwards according to all the people he flew with... and this is when he started doing the red paint thing....

 

When he came back in November he got two more in his Albatros D.V which had a partially red painted fuselage.... He was sent back to Germany after that for the propaganda value which he hated.... In March, 1918, he was in the air again with his first Dr.I (152/17), which was almost all red... and then switched to a new Fokker Dr.I (477/17) which initially was all red, 100% red with black crosses, but quickly having the rudder painted white with white blocks under the crosses....

 

He got the remaining 15 kills in that aircraft.... 

 

The thing about it is that he broke his own rules of combat chasing that Sopwith. A lot of people said that he had developed a sort of tunnel vision when honing in for a kill and lost situational awareness which is why he was flying that close to the ground. Something that he had taught all his pilots about never doing......

 

He was a great ace and air combat tactician, and has come to represent the ideal of what a WWI fighter pilot was.... (although I believe he was an exception rather than the rule)

[popeye the sailor]

he had many planes at his disposal......     controversial on how he died,  all evidence pointed to anti aircraft fire that killed him.   it was indeed lucky that he was flying close to the ground when shot.....he was able to land the plane without crashing.     he broke his rule upon seeing his cousin Wolfram being attacked.....later to pursue the attacker,  Ltn. Wilfred May........the precursor to his death

[thibaultron]

I watched a documentary on his death. It concluded from the angle of the wound and that the plane that was chasing him was too far away to hit him, it was indeed ground fire which killed him. In fact they narrowed it down to three specific gunners, then to the most likely one of them. The interesting thing is that they found the full military info on the other two, including ID? photos, but there were no photos in the info for the one who most likely got him.

[popeye the sailor]

I don't think they will ever know who fired the fatal shot........they are convinced that it came from the ground though.   at first,  they thought that Canadian Arthur Brown was the one who fired the fatal shot,  but when he intervened on Richthofen's pursuit,  he was on the wrong side.  Richthofen was hit on the right side and exited through the left side of his chest......which indicated that he was shot from the right and below.  Brown intervened from the left.   the theories led to an AA gunner that fired the shot.......here it branches off to three possibilities........sergeant Cedric Popkin or W.J. Evans........both met with contradictions..........C.O. Major David Blake was the person that initiated the theory on the ground fire and that someone in his squad may have shot him.    that was also disputed........since it was his responsibility to take care of the baron's body,  he was buried with a military funeral.   

[Javlin]

Denis love the looks(scheme) of this Crate

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Man!     ...you know,  I still haven't painted the rudder yet.............yea,  I know......  "what the hell are you waiting for?"     been kinda busy.....an a bout of 'da funk'.   I'd go to the table to get something done,  but I'd end up doing something else.....sometimes not modeling related.   the camera has been an issue too........can't seem to get this darn thing to take a good picture........piece of junk     I'll get there......don't give up  

 

there were problems with the kit itself.........subject being off.......decals......etc.  this is probably the best way to make sense of an ill fated model kit.........just change the kit subject!  

[Kevin]

have you tried taking photos outside, shame not to show your work off to its best ability

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Kevin for the concern........but no one is missing much.  I haven't been very busy of late.  there is so much going on around me,  that I'm having a hard time focusing on things.   the camera on the other hand,  has so far been a failure...........no matter what I adjust,  it just won't give me a clear picture.   I wish the darn thing had auto adjust like the other camera.  the admiral's phone gives better pictures for cry'in out loud!   I was chatting with my older son,  and he has an old phone that can't be used anymore,  due to being obsolete......he's gonna find it and give it to me to try.   I don't need a complicated camera,  so it might be an option.  I've been looking in stores,  the simple point and shoot camera has been scant at best.   I hope to have something for you all soon........sorry for the procrastination